Leonidas Kourmadas

Country

Australia

Occupation

Composer, Teacher

Leonidas Kourmadas was born in Athens, Greece in 1958. He began to play the guitar at the age of ten, and later attended the National Conservatorium of Athens, where he studied music theory, harmony, piano and guitar. In 1980 he spent one year in London taking advanced studies in theory. During this time he was working as a freelance musician. After two years interruption to complete his military service, he continued his music studies with composer Michael Travlos at the Nikos Skalkotas Conservatorium in Greece.

In 1984 he moved to Australia, he then studied at the University of New England where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Modern Greek (language & literature) and Music, and later at the Sydney Institute of Technology where he received a Certificate III in Music and a Diploma of Music (Contemporary). He has completed his Masters of Music degree in Composition (receiving the Masters Achievement Award) within the School of Music at Wesley Institute studying with Dr Heva Chan. He also holds a Certificate in Teaching (LOTE) from the University of New South Wales (Institute of Languages). He has studied piano with Daniel Herscovitch, twentieth century harmony, counterpoint and elements of composition and orchestration with composer and Associate Professor of the Music Department at the University of Sydney Dr Eric Gross.

Leonidas has worked on various musical genres, his music consists of solo instruments and chamber works for diverse ensembles through to full orchestra. His music has been performed at the Sydney Institute of Technology and at the Wesley Institute Theatre. He has performed in concerts in Greece, England and Australia.

During the period 2001-2005, Leonidas taught music theory, musicianship, piano and guitar at St Spyridon College Junior School, where he was also music co-ordinator, and conducted/accompanied the school’s choir for various school events and many other occasions. In 2001 he performed with the St Spyridon Children’s Choir, accompanied by the Millennium Choir, and the Western Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by George Ellis, in a concert organised by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia at the City Recital Hall as well as in 2005 at the Sir John Clancy Auditorium at the University of New South Wales. He has also taught at Dickson’s Music Complex, at St Euphemia College High School and at St Charles’ Primary School at Waverley. At the moment he is teaching at St Spyridon College Junior School, Waverley Primary School and Croydon Primary School.

He is currently a Full Writer Member of the Australasian Performing Right Association, the Institute of Music Teachers and the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW, where he is qualified to teach composition, music theory and piano. Since 2006 he is also a Member of the New South Wales Teachers Federation.

In addition, Leonidas is active as a Modern Greek teacher. Since 1996 he has been teaching Modern Greek at the Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of St Michael’s at Crows Nest. There he has formed, organised and now conducts, a student choir which performs at school events. In 2004 and 2005 he also taught Modern Greek at the Saturday School of Community Languages for the NSW Department of Education and Training, and has worked as a voice performer (Listening and Speaking Skills) on the NSW HSC Online website (Modern Greek), for the Charles Sturt University and the NSW Department of Education and Training.

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